Wednesday, February 8

I wish that I could see the earth from spacefree from the trappings of my life and gravitymy imagination might free me from this plightso I fancy myself an astronaut on my way to the moon.

Acceleration pulls at me as the rockets propel me forwardI feel another stage release and I clench my teeth as I praygeneral confusion and dizziness fill my mind as I try not to be sickthen we are in orbit and I’m floating in my seat.

I slowly move to the window with great expectationssearching the bright dots I find the small ball of pale blueit looks so peaceful and pristine, just hanging thereeverything else fades away as I savor the sight.

Earth, without the complications of being therea gorgeous living and breathing planet covered in lifeno boarders just land masses divided by blue waterssurely a paradise to those who live on the surface.

I realize I am seeing Earth as a whole for the very first timeand I feel completely different than I ever have beforewitnessing the overview effect for the first time in my lifefills me full of hope as I re-enter the atmosphere…

“When we originally went to the moon, our total focus was on the moon. We weren’t thinking about looking back at the Earth. But now that we’ve done it, that may well have been the most important reason we went.”— Overview Institute co-founder David Beaver, retelling what one astronaut has said.

source: Google

They say that the photograph of our “big blue marble” has had a huge effect on how we think of our relationship to the world around us already. When you look at Earth from the sky, you do not see borders or nations or divisions or conflicts. You see a fragile-yet-strong miracle and the main objective becomes clear: to care for this wonderful, rare thing. And according to the overview effect, that can make a real difference in the world.

Either at night or during the day the view of Earth from onboard the International Space Station looks spectacular. The lights, the storms, ...

Become An Astronaut In Training

"It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant, I felt very, very small." Neil Armstrong

"A civilization that only looks inward will stagnate. We have to keep looking outward; we have to keep finding new avenues for human endeavor and human expression." John L. Phillips